He also implied he will return as GM next season if his health continues to improve, a decision he won’t make until the end of the year. Ryan had surgery to remove cancer from his neck in February and radiation treatments before returning to work full-time in June.

Ryan was asked if he wants to come back next season.

“Let me get through the year,” he said. “Like everything around this organization, we usually wait until the end of the year before we make any decisions.”

What about Gardenhire?

“Same stuff. He is signed for next year, so you don’t have to worry about him.”

He’ll be back?

“Yeah, yeah, I would say he’ll be back,” Ryan said.

Does Ryan think Gardenhire has done a good job this season with a struggling Twins club?

“We can all do better,” Ryan said. “We’re not where we need to be. We can all do a better job. He has to, I have to, as an organization, we all have to. We’re just not playing up to what we’re wishing we were, consequently we’re not playing games that mean much in September.”

Even though this will be the fourth bad year in a row for the Twins, it’s obvious the team will start next year with better young talent, including a number of players who have improved with experience this year.

“[Right fielder Oswaldo] Arcia, [designated hitter Kennys] Vargas and [shortstop and center fielder Danny] Santana have all come up here and done a pretty good job,” Ryan said. “As you can see, they have talent. It’s just a matter of a little bit more experience. They have some ability to help us down the road.”

Ryan praised former Yankees starter Phil Hughes, who won his 14th game against eight losses Thursday by beating Cleveland 4-1 at Target Field. Hughes pitched seven innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits and striking out eight.